Car-coupling.



No. 872,454. PATENTED DEC. s, 1907. G. -P. RITTER.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION rmm rm. 1a, 1903.

GILBERT P. BITTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907.

Application filed February 18, 1903. Serial No. 143.926.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GILBERT P. BITTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the'county of Cook, State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers; and Ihereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in whichFigure 1 is a plan view of a car coupler embodying my invention; Fig. 2is a view partly in elevation, and partly in section in a vertical planejust forward of the lock, the knuckle being in its locked position; Fig.3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the lock sup orted in an unlockedposition and the knuc le in its locked position; Fig. 4 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 2, showing the relative relation of the parts of thecoupler when the knuckle is partly open Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig.2, showing the relative position of lock and coupler head when theknuckle is fully open; Fig. 6 is a view showing a modification ofmyinvention; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the knuckle.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

My invention relates to the construction of car couplers of the verticalplane, or J anney type, articularly those having gravity locks, and hasfor its objects to combine in a single member a lock for the knuckle, alockset for supporting the lock in an unlocked position to permit anuncoupling movement of the knuckle, and a knuckle-opener for causing anuncoupling movement of the knuckle when the latter is free to rotate.

To this end the main feature of my invention embraces in combination, aknuckle pivoted to the coupler-head, a unitary element comprising a lockinterposed between the knuckle tail and a wall of the coupler head and alock-set and knuckle opener member which, after the lock is set touncouple, rides upon and moves outwardly with the knuckle in itsuncoupling movement, and means for displacing said unitary lock,lock-set and knuckle -opener member from its seat upon the knuckle. I

There are other, minor, features of invention all as will hereinaftermore fully appear.

I will now roceed to describe my invention more fully so that othersskilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings 1 indicates the couplerhead to which is pivoted by theknuckle pin 2, the knuckle 3 with which the unitary lock, lock-set andknuckle-opener member 4 is caused to engage by means of an off-set onone of the members, whereb y the parts travel in unison through a partat least of the outward or uncoupling movement of the knuckle, and thelock-set and knuckle-opener arm is seated upon said knuckle. In theconstruction shown in the principal figures a seat or off-set 3 on theknuckle is provided for the rece tion and su port of the lower end 4 ofthe lbck-set and knuckle-opener arm 4.

The unitary lock, lock-set and knuckleopener member 4 is composedsubstantially of a lock-set and knuckle-opener arm 4 which extendsdownwardly behind the tail of the knuckle 3 and which, when the severalparts are in a locked position, enters an opening 1 in the bottom wallof the coupler, and of a locking block or lock member 4 which, when inits lowest position is interposed between the tail of the knuckle and awall of the coupler head and thus prevents the outward or uncouplingmovement of the knuckle, the said parts or members 4 and 4 being rigidlyconnected by an intermediate member 4 which acts as a lever in theknuckle-- opening function and as a support for the locking block in thesetting of the lock preparatory to uncoupling. And the said intermediatemember v4 is adapted, by reason of its bearing upon the projection, orfulcrum 1 of the coupler head, to be pivotally rotated about saidfulcrum 1 when the unitary lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member hasbeen lifted vertically by means of the lineally movable lifting pin ormember 5, which latter is pivotally connected to the locking block 4 ofthe unitary member 4.

The modification shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings is similar in allrespects to the construction hitherto described, except that in lieu offorming the off-set or seat 3 upon the knuckle for the reception of thelower end 4 of the lock-set and knuckle-opener arm 4, the said lock-setand knuckle-opener member is provided at a point above its lowerextremity with a shoulder a which is adapted to be seated on the tail ofthe knuckle and to thus support the lock in an unlocked position when itis desired to perform an uncoupling operation.

The construction being substantially such as herein pointed out, theoperation of the device will be as'follows: The knuckle being in alocked position and the unitary lock, lockset and knuckle-opener member4 being in its lowest position, an upward pull upon the lifting pin 5will cause a vertical translation of the said unitary member 4, saidvertical movement being subsequently followed by a rotary movement ofsaid unitary member 4 by reason of the continued upward pull upon thelock lifting member 5 and the engagement of the portion 4 of the unitarylock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member 4 with the projection orfulcrum 1 of the coupler head. In case the coupler is in engagement withanother coupler, this rotary movement will be of such extent merely asto cause the lower end 4 of the lock-set and knuckleopener arm 4 toengage and rest upon the seat 3 of the knuckle 3 (in the modification tocause the shoulder a of the arm 4 to seat itself upon the tail of theknuckle 3), thus supporting the lock portion 4 of the member 4 in anelevated position to allow an un coupling movement of the knuckle. Theknuckle being in a locked position and the locking block 4 beingsupported in an elevated position as above explained, an uncouplingmovement of the knuckle 3 will cause a further rotation of the unitarymember 4 about the fulcrum 1 of the coupler-' tion it remains until thereturn or coupling movement of the knuckle engages said lockset andknuckle-opener arm' and forces it back so that the end 4 of the arm 4'may enter the opening 1 in the bottom wall of the coupler, when theoperative parts of the de vice will all be in a locked or coupledrelation. If however the knuckle is in a locked position but the coupleris not in engagement with another coupler, the initial vertical lift ofthe unitary lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member 4 is succeeded by arotary movement limited only by the abutting of the top of the lockingblock 4 against the coupler-head and as the lock-set and knuckle-openerarm 4 is in contact with the tail of the knuckle during such rotation animpulse is imparted to the knuckleffland the latter is opened, theunitary member 4 finally seating itself upon the bottom wall of thecoupler-head and being returned to a locked position as heretoforeexplained. It will be noted that in performin either its lock-setting orknuckle-opening ction as the knuckle opens the unitary lock, lock-setand knuckle-opener member 4 has in succession a verticallyupwardmovement, a rotary movement and a vertically downward movement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a car coupler, the combination with a pivoted knuckle, of aunitary lock, lock-set and knuckle opener member adapted to have arotary movement and tobe supported in unlocked position by' engagementwith said knuckle, the lock portion of said unitary member beinginterposed between the front of the knuckle tail and a wall of thecoupler head and the lock-set and knuckle-opener portion thereof beingcaused to travel outwardly with and by said knuckle as the latterrotates to uncoupled position while supporting said unitary member inunlocked position, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a pivoted knuckle, of aunitary gravity lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member, the lockportion of which is interposed between the front of the knuckle tail anda wall of the coupler head and the lock-set and knuckleopener portion ofwhich extends downwardly behind said knuckle, said unitary member beingadapted to be supported in unlocked position by engagement with saidknuckle and said lock-set and knuckle-opener portion being eaused totravel outwardly with and by said knuckle as the latter rotates touncoupled position while supporting said unitary member in unlockedposition, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In a car coupler, the combination with a pivoted knuckle, of aunitary lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member adapted to be seatedupon the knuckle and to have a rotary movement to open said knuckle, thelock portion of said unitary member being interposed between the frontof the knuckle tail and the coupler head'and the lock-set and knuckleopener portion thereof being caused to travel outwardly with and by saidknuckle as the latter rotates to uncoupled position while said unitarymember is seated thereon, substantially as and for the purposesspecified.

4. In a car coupler, the combinatlon with a pivoted knuckle, of aunitary lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member adapted to be seatedupon the knuckle and to have a rotary knuckle-opener portion thereofbeing caused to travel outwardly with and by said knuckle as the latterrotates to uncoupled position while said unitary member is seatedthereon, means for displacing said unitary member from its seat uponsaid knuckle, and means for returning said unitary member to its lockedposition, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. In a car coupler, the combination with a pivoted knuckle, of aunitary lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member adapted to be seatedupon the knuckle and to have a rotary movement to open said knuckle, thelock portion of said unitary member being interposed between the frontof the knuckle tail and the coupler head and the lock-set andknuckle-opener portion thereof being caused to travel outwardly with andby said knuckle as the latter rotates to uncoupled position while saidunitary member is seated thereon; andmeans for displacing said unitarymember from its seat upon said knuckle, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

6. In a car-coupler, the combination with a pivoted knuckle, of aunitary lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member which rides upon andmoves outwardly with said knuckle,

the lock portion of said unitary member being interposed between thefront of the knuckle tail and the coupler head, substantially as and forthe purposes specified.

7. In a car coupler, the combination with a. pivoted knuckle, of a lockfor said knuckle having integral therewith an arm extending downwardlybehind the knuckle, a lineally movable lifting member, and means wherebysaid arm and said knuckle may mutually co-act to retain said lock inunlocked posihave a vertical movement succeeded by a rotary movement andto be supported in unlocked position by engagement with said knuckle,the lock-set and knuckle-opener portion of said unitary member beingcaused to travel outwardly with and by said knuckle as the latterrotates to uncoupled position while in supporting engagement with saidunitary member, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

9. In a car coupler, the combination with a pivoted knuckle, of aunitary lock, lock-set and knuckle-opener member adapted to be supportedin unlocked position by engagement with said knuckle and also adapted tohave both vertical and rotary movements, the lock portion of saidunitary member being interposed between the front of the knuckle tailand the coupler head and the lock-set and knuckle-opener portion theredfbeing caused to travel outwardly with and by said knuckle as the latterrotates to uncoupled position while supporting said unitary member inunlocked position, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnessesthis 18th day of February 1903.

GILBERT P. BITTER.

Witnesses:

VVM. E. DYRE, HUer-I M. STERLING.

